Real life of a NEWBIE investor
Real life of a newbie investor
I've been inspired by @Wendell De Guzman post, "real life of a real estate investor". With that being said, I believe there's value in sharing my journey with other newbies. I will begin giving weekly updates on my journey to hopefully inspire and garnish the insight of thought leaders in the BiggerPockets community. I'll start this first week off by giving a brief synopsis of what I've done so far.
I've completed four wholesale deals up to this point (I started in January 2014). I found those deals through direct mail. The list I targeted was the counties tax delinquencies. I sent about 200 initially and gradually added on every month until I got to 500 mail pieces. I experimented with typed letters in different envelopes. Handwritten
envelopes has worked well. The past two mailings I experimented with postcards as a less expensive alternative. My response rate for postcards are about .08%. I realize I will need to increase my mailings in order to see real progress. I have a great website and I've hired an Seo company to help with my online marketing due to the competitiveness of the Atlanta market. Recently I've partnered with a college buddy of mine to go into business with. We are both on the same level and I believe we both have something to bring to the table. With our new partnership, we've decided to focus on the desirable areas of Fulton county.
Our goal is to complete at least 2 wholesale deals per month and to locate our first fix and flip property. In order to achieve this goal, we will be driving for dollars weekly, amp our direct mailings up to 2k per month which will be narrowed down to specific zip codes (something I was previously not doing), online Google ad words campaign, and last but not least, we will begin networking every week with professionals in our community such as realtors, other investors, attorneys, insurance agents, and the list goes on. If successful, these tactics should provide constant and consistent lead flow which will increase offers made, which will increase offers accepted.
Things I've learned along the way
- Take ACTION. Taking action is of major importance, all of the studying in the world will not prepare you for real life experience and the navigation that will be required on your part. Listening and learning from other investors is great, but ultimately you will have to find your own path. I am beginning to understand this and it is a tremendous help in finding clarity of my real estate goals.
-Consistency is the glue that keeps it all together. Whatever you do, be consistent. The last man standing always wins. Be consistent with your direct mail, be consistent with networking with other professionals, be consistent on every level possible and it will pay off.
-Be as targeted as possible with direct mail. Narrow your list down by zip codes, equity, and anything else that will make your list targeted. This will ensure that the leads you have coming in are leads that you are definitely going to be interested in.
-Get a website as soon as possible. I've spoken to numerous people who ask for more information about our company and our reputation. Next to a direct referral, a website is the best thing. It educates your prospects and shows that you are serious.
-Partner with someone. After speaking with numerous investors and experiencing the brainstorming powers of two like minded individuals with the same goal. By partnering you will accomplish so much more. Two heads are always better than one.
-Create value for others. When you create value or bring something to the table, people are much more prone to want to work with you. In order to receive, you have to give. The more you give the more you receive. Give give give (do not be taken advantage of).
Next week I will give an actual update on our week as newbies and the progress we made during the week. Stay tuned. Please leave comments with any questions or advice. Thanks!
P.S this was composed on an iPhone so excuse any errors.